


Tasteful Errors

by brightpyrite



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Clubbing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 04:30:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3796759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightpyrite/pseuds/brightpyrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jongdae, more often than not, had the worst luck in the worst places. Also, going clubbing on a school night was turning out more terribly than he thought and is that guy staring at him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tasteful Errors

It's loud, and on a regular basis, this sort of clubbing would excite him like nothing else, but Jongdae's got like three essays in three different classes and a project due in an alarmingly quick date, so really it's no surprise he's thinking about the papers as he's being stuffed between the crowds. He's trying to sidle through the people in the quickest way possible, but he can't count on a single hand how many times he's almost tripped, or locked awkward eye contact with a stranger.

Jongdae cards his fingers through his mussed hair when he finally reaches the bar table and practically leaps onto the barstool. When he fishes his phone out of his pocket once more, there's a part of him that wishes it magically lit up- but reality hurts and Jongdae only gazes at the dead phone with reproach. And where the hell was his friends? Holy shit, if he didn't have a ride and there were no taxis left by the time he left.... He doesn't even want to linger on that scenario.

Sighing, he orders a martini (one of the really vibrant pink ones, with juice and sugar and stuff) trying to act casual all the whilst sneaking glances all-around trying to spot a familiar face. No one. With his luck, they probably did already leave, presuming Jongdae had strung up some lady friend to take him home. Then again, his glasses was in Yixing's bag so it really was a neverending cycle of pain and self-loathing. He wipes his hand across his face, and stares down the drink he just ordered, in all of its fruity goodness. Also alcohol, which was nice.

The only clock is at the very far-right dark wall from where Jongdae is sitting, and he bets it's because the club managers didn't want the clubbers to realize how much of their time they're spending on this shit and have an existential breakdown. He squints, trying to decipher the neon numbers over the heads of people, but there's this crazy tall dude who's standing right at the center of the digital clock, and Jongdae leans to the side, hoping to see the time clearly at another angle.

No such luck, because the guy's probably a jerk and want people to all look at him when all they wanted was the time. The dude is alone apparently, just oh so nonchalantly leaning back onto the risen clock, which barely seemed comfortable and this was one of the more amusing aspects of "pain for beauty" because not so far away, some ladies are floundering and watching his every move (or lack thereof. Ha!). His dark sleeves are pushed up over his elbows revealing really really pale skin and like twenty thread bracelets on one arm that it just looks like one long, inconsistently colored band on his arm, from afar. Dude's also got sunglasses on and sporting a cap backward which was kind of ridiculous.

Jongdae never presumed he'd be sitting at the bar stool, swirling a martini, while judging someone's outfit, from afar with terrible eyesight. That really defined how put-together his life was.

Maybe he's tasting grapefruit, or just a medley of citrus when he finally takes a sip, and waits patiently for the man to move, every once in a while taking his gaze off for his friends. Jongdae wants to just get over there and tell the guy to move, but somehow Jongdae is afraid this will rile up a fight (because drunk + potentially drunk never equals something good) because he needs to grab the posse and go when it hits midnight, so they won't all fail the exam that just so happens to take place _tomorrow _.__

__But hell with that, is what Jongdae thinks as he takes another swig and slides off the barstool, eyes shifting back at the random tall dude, and his brain might've dropped right to his stomach at that second when he realizes said random tall dude was responding to Jongdae's gaze with his own._ _

__Just a straight-on stare. Or glare. Who knows, Jongdae doesn't have eagle vision, but the way the stranger's sight is intently watching him couldn't be a good sign. And shit, Jongdae really doesn't want to initiate a fight- damn, he hasn't even been in an official one-on-one fight before and where was Zitao when you freakin' need him and-_ _

__The dude is sauntering over to Jongdae's seat too quickly for his taste, and Jongdae panics, trying to inhale the rest of his drink and throwing the money on the counter before he stumbles onto the dancefloor to lose the guy. The bass is thrumming through the floors and making Jongdae's heart hammer in his chest cavity, but the only thing that's running through his mind is the concern he's going to be found dead in a ditch, at the edge of town, because he wanted the dude to move so he could check the time._ _

__In spite of his swift scurry to safety amongst the mass, he is able to catch a glimpse of the time- two whole hours before midnight. He's both relieved and disappointed at this revelation. Jongdae clambers about until he reaches the DJ, where- thank _God_ \- Yixing stood, idly chatting up an attractive lady, and spots Jongdae. "Jongdae?"_ _

__"Yixing hyung," gasps Jongdae, grabbing Yixing by the shoulder and shuffling him away, eliciting a scoff from the lady and an apology from Yixing._ _

__They are in the corner when Jongdae stops, sticking his hand into the other man's shoulder satchel, successfully groping out his glasses. "Okay, stay with me, please!"_ _

__"Why?" Yixing's dark doe eyes are wide, "Did you accidentally hit on a person?"_ _

__"No, no! There's this guy who- who was right where I was staring, and he's probably going to beat me up-"_ _

__"What does this guy look like?" Yixing glances over Jongdae's shoulder._ _

__"Shit, I don't know, I didn't have my glasses, and he was too far," mutters Jongdae, shoving his dark-rimmed glasses onto his face._ _

__Yixing pulls away with a sigh, "Maybe he thought you were interested in him," and punctures his suggestion with a brief laugh._ _

__"Yeah, whatever. Wait, where are you going?"_ _

__"To the dancefloor. Why don't you, ah, clear something up that person?"_ _

__"That's not the best idea you've ever had," Jongdae protests weakly._ _

__"It's better than just letting this fear fester inside of you. Plus, if you die, you won't have to finish your exams or papers!" Yixing beams at him._ _

__He's now in the corner, alone and somewhat afraid. Entirely regretting the mere choice of accepting the invitation to go clubbing- he should've stayed in the dorms, cooped up in his blankets and watch some Korean subbed movies. Or just damn study._ _

__Ambling back onto the dancefloor, he is completely enclosed by a swarm of dancing people, and it's way too hot to be wearing jeans and a long-sleeve shirt (the only liberation he gets is the lowcut of the shirt) and he's going to start sweating under all these strobe lights and reckless young adults- plus there's a good possibility his glasses will fly off his face somehow and end up getting crushed._ _

__Despite every discomfort, he rather make an effort to get hyped to dance, than get a drink, because he knows he'll get smashed to the point where he might even go home with someone unfamiliar and that would _definitely_ not be good, not today at least. Jongdae's gradually accepting the sway that's taken over the crowd, and loosens his limbs. He leans back slightly and-_ _

__But that's when he feels it. There's someone right in the back of him, and the back of his head is right at the crook of whoever's neck, which means one false move can make anything occur at this point. Jongdae's gaze shift downward at the clutter of feet- and yes, it is 100% a dude behind him, trying to hit him up.  
Great. And he means that totally sarcastic, just as an aside. Jongdae keeps the smile on his face, nevertheless. He trying to ignore the proximity of the person, a little concerned that if he turned around, and it had been an attractive person subtly beckoning to dance together._ _

__He wants to laugh, but also cry, because the image of his half-written essays are coming back to mind, which is essentially the worst thing to be pondering upon when some clearly intrigued stranger is about to dance on you from the behind. Jongdae decides that the drink might've been a better choice but it's too late and Yixing is too far to save him now. Their hips are frighteningly close and if he's bumped from any side can result in him shoving his ass back onto the dude's pelvic area and it's too late to clamber out of the crowd now because the bass is slaying everyone. But especially Jongdae, who feels a certain discomfort in his pants (not the good kind) and he's made only a string of bad decisions after another._ _

__There's- there's a breath on his jawline and it smells of the weird mint mojito recommendation that Jongdae turned down earlier that night for the tropical martini. He forces himself to not jolt- honestly, he's not normally this hypersensitive, but he needs to get off (of the dance floor) and head to the bathroom soon._ _

__"Hey," comes out as a hum on Jongdae bare, sweaty neck, and it _should_ be scandalous, but all he can utter back is a responsive grunt._ _

__"My name's Sehun," continues the dude, and Jongdae nods, opening his mouth to say something like, "Cool, I'm Jongdae," but some jerk decides to then elbow him and Jongdae knows his rear has come into contact- through several layers of fabric though- with Sehun's frontal crotch area, and that's not good. And it's not just a brush, it's a full grind down, and Jongdae wants to both snicker the awkwardness away but also just slither through the front exit of the club._ _

__"I'm Jongdae," says Jongdae when Sehun has the courtesy to prop him back on his feet. "You didn't ask, but...." He twists his neck to catch a glimpse of the respectful figure, but he first checks out the guy's arms and he was fully able to piss his pants right then and there.  
A random collection of thin, vibrant (red, violet, turquoise, pink, green... ) bracelets took up a large portion of Sehun's wrist, and suddenly Jongdae has no more words left on his tongue, his simple sway stalling completely._ _

__"You're not wearing your sunglasses." Jongdae had apparently forgotten his brain-to-mouth filter that night._ _

__Sehun raises his brows, although says, "Aah, so you do recognize me!" Grinning, all the whilst. Jongdae wonders if Sehun didn't even feel their prior, way too intimate, contact._ _

__"Maybe?"_ _

__"Maybe," he agrees, "but now you're wearing glasses?"_ _

__So he recognized Jongdae all along- he wonders if this is how he approaches all of his victims and stuff. "Yeah, I'm pretty much blind without them." _Shit._ Why did he say that? That's clearly a weak point and he just admit that to a potential murderer. They're facing each other at this point and if Sehun whipped his fist out, he would be down so fast. He's also being way too paranoid._ _

__There's a weird pause between them (luckily not vacant, since the atmosphere was pulsing of bass notes and electropop) before Sehun lets out a sudden laugh. "At least you look great with and without them."_ _

__Jongdae's shoulders stiffen, and he hopes Sehun didn't notice. He replies, "That's what I always say to myself."_ _

__"Mm." Sehun's smile loosens in a very provocative manner, and Jongdae is tempted to edge his gaze away. "Now, tell me. Was I in your way, back when you were sitting down and I was over there?" He gestures the wall with a very wide arm wave._ _

__Jongdae flushes, because the paranoia (mixed in with inebriation, stress, and fatigue) is creeping back. "What? No, no, I was, ah, enjoying the view." He drops the biggest lie of the night because he doesn't want to die, but then again, he can totally back up his claim because Sehun was nice on the eyes nevertheless.  
He still feels the need to piss, but he might have had just escaped sly death._ _

__Sehun's eyes widen, and in common circumstances Jongdae would snicker at his fluster, but he's settled on just a twitch of the lips. "Whoa. I- huh."_ _

__"Sorry, that was uncalled for."_ _

__"No," breathes Sehun, and without warning, leans close until his mouth is just a centimeter from Jongdae's cheek. "Don't be." One hand curls around Jongdae's upper arm and the other hand laces fingers with his own; his breathing is audible, slow and strong._ _

__"Are you of twenty-ish years?"_ _

__Sehun answers simply, "Twenty-two. You?"_ _

__"Twenty-four," grins Jongdae and Sehun huffs out: "Jongdae-hyung."_ _

__Which isn't half-bad._ _

__They're going too fast for Jongdae's liking, but he doubts that scurrying away now was still an option. The chat continues with a sort of liveliness, and soon Jongdae's learning more things about Sehun than he would have ever suspected._ _

__Sure, he's pretty relieved that Sehun's not aggressive about staring as he thought, and it's pretty cool that Sehun's reciprocating the flirtatious vibes, but Jongdae honestly needs to take a piss at this point. So he eases Sehun's hand off his shoulder with a weak chuckle, and says, "We can continue this little mutual serenade after, ah...," jerking a thumb to the restroom, and for one unknown _fucking spontaneous_ reason, pats the waistline of his pants._ _

__It's only after Sehun reacts, that Jongdae registers what he had just done. That could've been interpreted wrong, and by the looks of it, it probably had been. Like he was going to invite Sehun to dance in the more adult way.  
"What?" sputters Sehun, initially, but relaxes after a second, "Are you-?"_ _

__"I don't know," Jongdae says carefully, "it depends on what you're thinking." Maybe Jongdae should have just directly shut him down, but saying no seems sort of difficult and he wants to keep talking to Sehun at the least._ _

__"Yes," is the reply. Before Jongdae can create a coherent response, Sehun has grabbed both of his wrists loosely- as though it was entirely on Jongdae's part on whether he pulls away or not. Jongdae's too fuzzy for that, and is compliant when Sehun leads him to the bathroom._ _

__The restroom is completely vacant. Which is fantastic. It's also Western-inspired, just like the rest of the club, with urinals and wallpaper with neon squiggles against a constant gray._ _

__"How do you-"_ _

__"What are you-" are said simultaneously._ _

__"Don't you want to slow down, Sehun," Jongdae says after a moment of silence, attempting to stall whatever is churning in Sehun's inebriated mind._ _

__"I'm fine, but what about you?" But when Sehun replies, Jongdae's already tugging at his belt, clicking it open. "Oh." They are two meters apart from each other, but Jongdae feels the atmosphere emitting from Sehun in closer vicinity- like preparation for some one-night-stand, except more emotionally-investing, which made essentially no sense._ _

__Jongdae's not sure why Sehun's zeroing in on his junk area, but he'll cut the other some slack since they're both a little hazy. Or perhaps more than just a little hazy. "Yeah?" he drawls._ _

__"Do you want me to-...?"_ _

__"Touch my dick?" jokes Jongdae, but that's the line breaker._ _

__Jongdae freezes up and turns from the urinal, the fact that Sehun just saw his boxers fabric from the unzipped fly going unnoticed. They're black, with uncoordinated white stripes. "I'm just... going to piss. You can wait back out back if you still want to chat. Like, I'm down for drinks now but I just-"_ _

__"No, yeah, I get it!" Sehun mumbles, seeing Jongdae slip his thumb under the waistband, his glasses falling down his nose. The tips of his ears are red, and he's readjusting his cap hastily, averting his gaze elsewhere on the very sparsely decorated lavatory. Jongdae blinks as Sehun backs up to the exit, still assuring, "I'll wait for you!"_ _

__Sehun leaves with a certain fluster, to which Jongdae shrugs and finally takes the piss he's been waiting for._ _

__****_ _

\--

When Jongdae finally exits, his hands scrubbed clean and feeling more willing to live, he glances around for a particular person. \He turns around once, and nope, Sehun is nowhere in sight.

So he left. Hm. Jongdae narrows his eyes and thinks, _Wow. What the actual hell._ That was, first off, rude. But he glances to the clock again and- okay. It is now less than an hour away until midnight, and he's positive that Chanyeol and Baekhyun are on the second floor playing billards and losing incredibly; Yixing's still near the DJ table successfully serenading multiple ladies at a time; and Kris most likely took the smart route and left the club like hours ago. Damn.

Some lewd American pop song is supremely buzzing from every corner of the room, and Jongdae is eager to hop back on the bar stool to order the most creatively-named drinks they made. Which is essentially what he does, because wow, some of the drinks are in English and one of them is called _Purple Nurples_ , which is funny to say aloud. He does so a couple times, actually.

Time passes oddly, because every once in a while, some stranger pulls up beside him, eager to talk (of which they do, but it never gets further than that) and buy him more drinks. Sometimes, Jongdaen suspects it's Sehun, which is sort of weird how significant this stranger is to him that night. Despite everything, he's doing a good job in not getting too enthralled with anyone enough to get intimate, because his grades results are slaughtering his brain cells in the most crucial manner. Everything else is a blur, but in the most mediocre way.

That's why he doesn't notice when Yixing first taps him on the shoulder, then gently shakes him. It rouses Jongdae enough to emit a drowsy, "Hm?"

"Jongdae-ah," Yixing grimaces, "how long have you been here?"

"Ehh, I don't know," hums Jongdae, unpromising.

"Okay, well, we need to go. Also, there's a guy waiting for you outside? His name is Sehun."

To this, Jongdae jolts, "Outside?" And it hits him that there was another misinterpretation of Jongdae's words, on Sehun's behalf. Yikes.

"Let's go," Yixing chides, and Jongdae obliges willingly, taking out the rest of his won and follows the other to the door like a lost puppy.

Outside of the club, music can still be faintly heard, and there are smoke drawls coming from some alleyway to his right, but he doesn't mind that, because Jongdae's gaze shifts to Baekhyun, who's wearing such a malicious, knowing grin, it's alarming.

"What," Jongdae exclaims.

"Nothing, except for the fact you left this kid hanging for an hour," crows Baekhyun, finally collapsing in snickers. 

However, Yixing interjects with a soft admonish, "That's not nice," which shuts Baekhyun up. Chanyeol only scoffs, digging out the keys to the car from his back pocket.

"I'm," Jongdae says hotly, but he's looking at Sehun now (who's, again, staring intently at him) and he presses a smile, "sorry?"

Perhaps Sehun is collecting his thoughts, that's why there's such a prolonged pause after his unexpected apology, and Jongdae is getting fidgety under all this awkwardness. The club's front doors open noisily, another dude exits with a sort of superior air, and begins to wave dramatically to their direction.

"Oi, Sehun!" He stops though, and instead looks directly at Jongdae, who thinks that maybe he was going to end up in a ditch after all.

Despite that sudden interruption, Sehun turns to Jongdae with a certain disapproving glance, and frowns. "It's a lot easier to say you're not interested, hyung."

"Hyung?" yelps Baekhyun, but Chanyeol is quick to elbow him.

"I'm not trying to reject you! I'm just...."

"Hush, it's not all the time we get to see this sort of live-action drama," Chanyeol hums.

At this point, Yixing puts up an effort to drag those two back to the car before they cause more of a ruckus. "We'll wait in the car," assures Yixing.

When Jongdae fixes his sight back onto Sehun (who's just as tall in person), the stranger is beside Sehun. He has a particular temptation to run his fingers through the stranger's blonde hair, but nevermind that.

Jongdae draws his tongue over his parched lips, "So! Who's this?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ride," Sehun's friend says, and Jongdae's not sure what to make of this remark.

"Okay, well, I'd ask you for your phone number but I- my phone is dead."

Sehun only reciprocates by eagerly whipping out his own phone (a new model, the screen size of a damn chocolate bar). And as though he thought Jongdae would not notice with his drunken vision, Sehun pushes his friend away, mumbling something about "confusing Jongdae" and "competition." Jongdae's not sure.

"Fine, fine," the friend claps Sehun on the shoulder, before taking off back into the club.

"Aah... okay." Jongdae punches his phone number in, titling the contact name _Jongdae ♪(´ε｀ )_ , before handing the phone back to Sehun, who has taken off his cap, revealing his magical hair.

It might have been that he was staring, but Sehun clears his throat, "I'll text you sometime."

"Yeah! Please do, at any time is cool. Except now, because my phone's not working," babbles Jongdae, backing away to Chanyeol's car, of which Yixing was driving because supposedly he didn't drink the entire time. "See you!"

Sehun returns a small wave before turning back, his skinny jeans showing those legs a little more prominently. Jongdae only lingers for a second.

"Sorry I didn't let you give me a handjob!" calls Jongdae out the window, when they're peeling out of the parking lot. "I'll make it up to you!"

At this, Sehun's head jerks up, and even in the dark night, Jongdae swears he saw Sehun nod; as though affirming this.

He doesn't understand why Baekhyun is laughing so hard right now.

**Author's Note:**

> never thought i'd be writing rpf, wow. just wow. a mainstream kpop band too.  
> (also this turned into a ~4k atrocity oh god)  
> i've decided to make it my goal to only write the most obscure of EXO ships so those other obscure shippers may be satisfied for an extended period
> 
> any mistakes, feel free to point them out! also comments, yes.


End file.
